Extra Large Grocery Bill? You’re Not Alone

Grocery expenses are an unavoidable part of life. We all have to eat, and for the most part, that means we all have to buy groceries. If you’ve noticed over the last few years that your bill is getting higher and higher regardless of whether or not you have changed what you regularly purchase, you aren’t alone. Food prices have been increasing steadily since 2006.

The increase hasn’t been a small one either. In the last seven years, overall food prices have gone up 20 percent. While it is not unusual for food prices to fluctuate or even increase over time, the upward trend of the last decade is especially interesting because of the “why?” factor. The rise in food prices may be due to recent events.

When you think of biofuels, you think of a product that generally benefits our planet. Unfortunately, it appears that biofuels are also impacting your grocery bill to some degree. The increase in use of biofuels has created a larger need for agricultural products like corn and soybeans. This in turn has increased their price. Climate change has also been pointed out as a factor in rising food costs. Extreme weather events and changes to the landscape itself have hindered food production. Understandably, this is also affecting the price of food.

Some experts suggest that not only will food prices continue to rise, but food production will also go down in the next few years. While that outlook seems bleak, it is important to note that the overall percentage of money spent on food has lowered considerably through the years. So, even though food prices are on the rise, consumers are still spending a smaller percentage of what they make on food. It seems unlikely that trend will change.

If you’re still concerned over the rising food costs and the impact they’ll have on your daily life, there are ways to ease the burden.
The simplest is to start a garden. Whether you have the space for a large vegetable garden or just a little room to grow some herbs, you will be making a positive impact on your grocery bill by removing those foods from your weekly purchases.

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I've always had a garden of some sort, sometimes just a few pots. But in the last years, I have a fairly good size garden. But between the mole, birds, and the bunny we've had a hard time with it. Tomatoes are plentiful this year and we've had beautiful purple potatoes, so that is lucky. Thanks for the great article.

It is our choice on what we buy and what we are willing to spend. For instance, the #1 food Americans eat is hamburger it is sold on sale for as little as $2.50 a pound but regular price in my area is $4.49 a pound, look at #5 bacon, it's bad for us yet we are now willing to pay $6 to $8 a pound for something that should only cost $2.19 a pound why is it so high? Because we will pay that much! Some one is making a fortune!!! What are they going to do with a couple of millions pounds of both if we refuse to buy it at that price? WE control the price so quit buying it!!!

I'm lucky enough to have grown up with parents that always had a garden, and their parents, and their parents. This has been passed on to me and I have always tried to have something either in a pot (when space was short) or in the garden. Now I have a decent sized garden area that has also allowed me to plant fruit trees, and what we can't eat goes in the freezer, bottled into jars, made into marmalade or jams, and shared with the older people in my community. I also have dogs that like their fruit and vegetables so having a garden makes it a lot less expensive.

I think that that is the problem with living in a flat. You can only grow so much on a window sill and in some parts of the country it is at risk of theft or vandalism. We had an alotment rented from the council a few years ago but theft was rife. I am lucky to be able to 'borrow' a very small plot in a garden down the road. This year we grew potatos and tried to grow peas (which did miserably, lack of sun) tomatoes; which are still green, lack of sun again. Last year was terrible too because of such an abysmal summer. A lot of hard work and expense for very little. Here in the UK food is getting rediculously expensive and I can see it getting worse if this climate mess continues. I have resorted to living off dahl a lot lately to save on expense. Like the 'Fast Show.' "This week I have mostly been eating...."

What I find super-frustrating in Canada is to see large signs in grocery stores advertising the prices in lbs. Canada does not use that old weight system - but then, at first look, the prices seem much cheaper. I think it is incredibly dishonest !!